Judge asked to suppress marijuana charge stemming from Twitter raid

PEORIA — A Central Peoria man arrested on drug charges after Peoria police raided his home searching for the creator of a parody Twitter account that lampooned the mayor will go to trial in December.

But before then, Circuit Judge Thomas Keith will have to decide on motions to suppress the marijuana seized when police went to 1220 N. University St. on April 15 and also a motion to force Mayor Jim Ardis to turn over unredacted emails between him and Peoria County State’s Attorney Jerry Brady that were sent before the search.

Dan O’Day, who represents Jacob Elliott, 36, wants those emails because he maintains the case against his client should be tossed out because there was such an error in law that police could not have been acting in good faith when they went into the house.

At issue is the law the police used to raid the house, “false personation.” In order to commit that offense, Brady decided, the offender must do it in person. Using that reasoning, he would not charge Jon Daniel, the creator of the parody account.

O’Day thinks the emails could show what the police understood about the law before they went to the home. And that could go to his suppression argument, that anything found at the house, given the police were in err, should be barred.

“Peoria has enough crimes to investigate without conducting Magellan-like expeditions throughout cyberspace simply to please a mayor whose feelings have been hurt,” he said.

But Brady, by charging Elliott, believes the police acted in good faith and, therefore, the evidence should be admitted.

During a hearing Wednesday morning, Keith ordered Ardis and City Hall to turn over a log of emails they believe fall under the attorney-client privilege. The judge also ordered all the emails in question delivered to him unredacted so he can view them before hearing arguments in September.

Elliott, who is accused of illegally possessing the drug, is set to go to trial in December. If convicted he faces probation or up to three years in prison.

Andy Kravetz can be reached at 686-3283 or akravetz@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @andykravetz.